The lovable, wooden alien sacrificed himself to save his team at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, but to much of the audience's surprised, a sapling from Groot's body was still intact. This made many believe that Groot did, in fact, survive, and the baby branch was a form regeneration, which was made clear to be one of Groot's powers. Though having a different personality and no memory of his previous life, fans still believed that the Jackson 5-obsessed Baby Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was just Groot reincarnated — that was until Gunn made the recent, heart-wrenching declaration.

In a Feb. 27 tweet, Gunn wrote,

"The internet is like Groundhog Day every time I point out first Groot died. Baby Groot has a different personality, a different body, no memories of adult Groot & adult Groot’s sacrifice actually meant something."

Even still, a lot of folks on the internet are taking the news pretty hard, and they didn't hesitate to show their emotions all over Twitter.

If you find yourself in total disbelief too, don't fret. The Marvel Comics, in which Groot's character originated, could be responsible for all of the confusion. Prior to Guardians Vol. 1, fans of the story were aware that each time Groot sacrificed himself for his team (and yes, this has totally happened more than once), he was able to regenerate from a twig back to his old self. And unless this common belief was totally misinterpreted, it looks like the film decided to shake this bit of Marvel information up.

Gunn may be the writer and director of the box-office hit, but that doesn't mean that everyone is going to take his word for it. Finding out that Adult Groot actually dies in Guardians Vol. 1 is such a major blow that a fews are heading toward full-on denial.

All in all, here's to hoping that Baby/Teenaged Groot will be the last Groot fans will ever be introduced to. Because as it stands, hearts all across the internet can't bear to take another heartbreak.